The Lafayette women’s basketball team travels to the Big Apple for the Fordham Holiday Tournament. The Leopards (4-7) will take on the Fordham Rams (7-4) on Saturday at 1 p.m. and then match up with either Providence (3-8) or Colorado State (3-7) on Sunday at either 1 or 3 p.m. based on the results from Saturday. Lafayette is coming off a 66-63 win over St. Francis Brooklyn on Dec. 21. The Leopards are 5-11 against the Rams in their history and lost the last meeting on Feb. 11, 1995 in the Bronx, N.Y., 60-40. Lafayette will face either Providence or Colorado State on Sunday for the first time in its history.

LEOPARDS’ LAST TIME OUT

St. Francis Brooklyn gave the Lafayette women’s basketball team all it could handle, but in the end, the Leopards prevailed behind four players scoring in double figures, 66-63. A last-second heave from the right corner knocked off the outside of the rim to send the Leopards to their fourth win of the season.

Co-captains sophomore Emily Homan and Danielle Fiacco dominated the game from the low block. Homan tallied her second double-double of the season, pouring in 18 points and snagging 12 rebounds. On the other block, Fiacco scored a team-high 20 points and was one shy of her sixth double-double with nine boards. The junior also blocked five shots.

On the outside, freshman Jamie O’Hare got the start along with sophomores Brya FreelandLinnel Macklin as the Leopards coughed up just 12 turnovers, tying their lowest of the season. O’Hare and Freeland were excellent feeding the low block in secondary transition, as well as putting up stats of their own. O’Hare finished with 11 points and four apiece of rebounds and assists, while Freeland tallied 12 points with six boards and three helpers.

Lafayette (4-7) went 24-of-60 from the field (40.0%) as Fiacco (7-of-12) and Homan (9-of-12) were efficient from their post positions. Accordingly, the Leopards held a 38-22 advantage in the paint. On the perimeter, the squad made just three of its 17 attempts. St. Francis’ Sarah Benedetti racked up a game-high 28 points on 6-of-7 from three-point range to go along with four free throws

SCOUTING THE RAMS

Fordham will be playing its first game in almost two weeks after defeating Morgan State, 72-56, on Dec. 16. The Rams are 4-1 at home this season, with their only loss coming against Stony Brook on Dec. 8. This game will be Fordham’s fourth-straight in Rose Hill Gym.

The Rams allow just 51.1 points per game, ranking them 21st in the nation. Junior Erin Rooney leads the team in scoring, dropping 14.3 points per game. Graduate student Marah Strickland follows with 12.7 points per contest and Samantha Clark leads the squad on the glass with 6.6 rebounds.

SCOUTING THE FRIARS

The Friars come into Saturday’s contest with Colorado State at 3-8 on the year, with all three of their wins coming at home. They recently snapped a four-game losing skid on Dec. 22 when they took down Rhode Island, 78-52. They shot 41.5 percent from the field in that contest and saw five players tally in double figures.

Colorado State will open the Fordham Holiday Tournament against Providence on Saturday at 3 p.m. The Rams come into the contest with an overall record of 3-7 and dropped a heartbreaker in their last contest, a 50-48 loss to Denver on Dec. 20.

These Rams are led in scoring by Caitlin Duffy, dropping 10.8 points per contest and the sole member of the team averaging in double figures. Sam Martin is knocking on the door every game, though, averaging 9.9 points per game. On the glass, Martin tabs 6.4 boards per game, while Kara Spotten and Meghan Heimstra pull down 5.1 rebounds per night.

ROAMING THE SIDELINE

Lafayette head coach Dianne Nolan enters today’s matchup with a career record of 540-464 and a 23-48 mark in her third year at Lafayette. On the other side, Fordham head coach Stephanie Gaitley is in her second season with the Rams and 27th year overall with a career record of 483-292. Providence head woman Susan Robinson Fruchtl is with the Friars for her first season and owns a career mark of 77-91. Manning the Colorado State sideline will be Ryun Williams, in his first season with the Rams and 18th year overall. Williams holds an overall record of 261-160

CONFERENCE HISTORIES

Saturday’s game will mark the second of two Atlantic 10 opponents Lafayette faces this season, the first being St. Joseph’s, whom Lafayette lost to on Dec. 5. Lafayette is 16-42 all-time against the current 16-member Atlantic 10 conference, but has never faced Dayton, Charlotte, Xavier, Butler, St. Louis or Massachusetts in its history. If the Leopards were to face Colorado State on Sunday, it would be just the third time a Lafayette squad would match up with a team from the Mountain West conference in its history. The Leopards split two games with Air Force from 1999-2001. If Sunday’s game is against Providence, it will mark the fourth and final Big East opponent Lafayette faces this season, as it fell to Seton Hall in South Orange, N.J. on Nov. 11, 60-54, and dropped its third game of the season to Villanova, 73-34. Pittsburgh came to Kirby Sports Center on Dec. 1 and got dropped by the Leopards, 68-65. The Panthers were picked to finish tied for 13th with Seton Hall in the 15-team conference. Villanova was picked 10th and Providence 15th in the Big East Preseason Poll.

Lafayette Athletics, as a partner in the mission of the College, provides an incredibly effective learning experience for student-athletes through competitive NCAA Division I athletics. Lafayette sponsors 23 varsity sports with more than 600 student-athletes.